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If Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson really does launch a political career, he could probably beat President Donald Trump in 2020, a new poll released on Tuesday shows. The wrestler-turned-actor earned the support of 42 percent of those polled by Public Policy Polling.
The poll found that 36 percent of respondents had a favorable view of The Rock, while 13 percent had an unfavorable view. However, half of those polled weren’t sure what to think of Johnson.
| Dwayne Johnson Favorability | |
| Favorable View | 36 |
| Unfavorable View | 13 |
| Not Sure | 50 |
When pitted against Trump, Johnson earned 42 percent while Trump earned 37 percent. Twenty-one percent of those polled weren’t sure who they would vote for in that scenario. When broken down by gender, The Rock beats Trump among women, 42-39 percent, while Trump wins among men, 42-39.
| Dwayne Johnson vs. Donald Trump in 2020 | |
| Dwayne Johnson | 42 |
| Donald Trump | 37 |
| Not Sure | 21 |
When broken down by party, Trump overwhelmingly keeps his support among Republicans. Only 20 percent of Republicans would vote for Johnson, while 64 percent of Democrats would.
The PPP poll was conducted over the phone and online between May 12 and May 14, with 692 registered voters responding. The margin of error was +/- 3.7 percent. You can find other results from the poll here.
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The reason why PPP asked about people’s opinions of Johnson is because he has flirted with running for political office on multiple occasions, as recently as this month. Back in July, Johnson told Good Morning America that a political future for the actor is “very real.”
In a May interview with British QG, Johnson said he hadn’t ruled politics out and called the thought of being a governor or president is “alluring.”
Then in an interview with GQ this month, Johnson said running for president is a “real possibility.”
“A year ago, it started coming up more and more,” Johnson told GQ. “There was a real sense of earnestness, which made me go home and think, ‘Let me really rethink my answer and make sure I am giving an answer that is truthful and also respectful.’ I didn’t want to be flippant—‘We’ll have three days off for a weekend! No taxes!’”
The Rock is a registered Republican, but he clearly has broad appeal, even among Democrats. Last year, he avoided endorsing a candidate. In 2000, he famously appeared at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
“Personally, I feel that if I were president, poise would be important,” Johnson told GQ. “Leadership would be important. Taking responsibility for everybody. [If I didn’t agree with someone] on something, I wouldn’t shut them out. I would actually include them. The first thing we’d do is we’d come and sit down and we’d talk about it. It’s hard to categorize right now how I think he’s doing, other than to tell you how I would operate, what I would like to see.”
If Johnson doesn’t run for president, he always has his highly successful movie career to fall back on. This year, he was already seen in The Fate of the Furious and is back in theaters on May 25 with Baywatch. He’ll also be seen in December’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The 45-year-old Johnson, who was born in Hayward, California, was the highest-paid actor in the world in 2016, earning $64.5 million, Forbes reports.
